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6 ways AI can help you ace finals - for free (without plagiarizing)

ZDNet

Final exams are stressful for students, requiring intense studying and long nights. However, AI can help ease the load. Since generative AI first surged in popularity, the technology has typically received a bad rap in the education sector, with many believing it threatens academic standards and integrity. However, AI can also be a great assistant capable of helping students optimize their studying. This is especially true as AI tools become better and smarter.


Get an AI assistant to help you make wise investments for just A 108 for life

Mashable

TL;DR: Sterling Stock Picker is an AI-powered Stock guidance tool to help you invest your money, and it's only A 108 for life. When you're first starting out, investing can feel a bit like gambling. You throw your money down, and it's a crapshoot whether you'll get more back or lose it all. Thing is, that's not actually how the stock market works. If you do your research, you can learn how to reduce your risk and make better investments, whether that means they're safer or there's more room to grow.


Google's 'AI Mode' search is ready to replace a list of links

PCWorld

Google said Thursday that it has begun migrating its "AI Mode" out of its experimental Labs effort and into the real world. Google said that a "small percentage of people" in the "coming weeks" will see what Google calls AI Mode, or entirely AI-generated responses to queries that users ask. It's Google's response to services like Anthropic, which "answer" queries using AI, which slurps up and regurgitates answers that others have already provided. Google first began revamping its search algorithm in 2023, when it started aggregating AI-powered summaries of say, the best laptops. AI has been used elsewhere by Google services like Chrome to sum up web pages, as well.


Google makes AI Mode search experiment available for everyone to try

Mashable

AI Mode in Google Search is one step closer to public launch now that the waitlist has been removed for U.S. users. In an announcement on Thursday, Google shared that all users over 18 years old can now opt in to trying out AI Mode in Labs, the company's testing ground for new AI features. Google calls AI mode a "new Search experiment that uses advanced reasoning, thinking and multimodal capabilities to answer even your toughest questions." Google also shared that it's introducing "product and place cards" within the responses for up-to-date information, including images, ratings, reviews, store hours, and availability. For the uninitiated, AI Mode is Google's search feature that combines the Gemini chatbot experience with search results.


Amazon deal of the day: Get a 50 DoorDash gift card for just 42.50

Mashable

Amazon is kicking off the month of May with some pretty impressive deals on top brands like Garmin, Echo, and Bowflex. These are just deals for the sake of deals -- and those are our favorite kind. In a time when everything is getting more expensive, it's a thrill to see brands actually lowering prices. We've rounded up some discounts we think are worth grabbing. Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on May 1.


Sam Altman-backed startup makes optical scanner to detect humans from AI

Mashable

Have you ever wanted a mobile device designed solely to scan your eyeballs? No, that sounds a little creepy? Tools for Humanity, a start-up backed by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, debuted the Orb Mini this week, a smartphone-sized device with two massive eye sensors on it. The hardware is part of the World project and app, a grand plan aimed at creating a global identification system. The idea is that these sensors, paired with a blockchain registry, could serve as a tool for verifying someone's humanity.


Xbox prices hiked worldwide amid tariff uncertainty

BBC News

Xbox prices are also rising in other countries around the world, with the Series S increasing by 80 in Europe and 50 in Australia. It represents a big change in an industry which would typically see prices go down in the years after a console's launch. "We understand that these changes are challenging," Microsoft said in a blog post. "They were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development." Kedhrin Gonzalez, founder of Rip & Tear studios, told the BBC he felt the price rise was "inevitable" and "catalysed by current tariff disruptions".


Google's AI Mode just got more helpful - and easier to access

ZDNet

Google has updated AI Mode, making it a better fit for planning your summer vacation, shopping trip, or learning more about any topic. Plus, if you're interested in trying the tool, access to it just got a lot easier. Google's new AI Mode takes Search's real-time information access and combines it with the best generative AI capabilities -- such as longer natural queries and personalized answers -- to create an AI search engine experience. It is especially helpful for nuanced questions with many criteria, like shopping and trip planning. Also: New Google Labs experiments help you learn new languages in'bite-sized' lessons "We are really enabling, helping you shop and seek local businesses, and plan your travel much better," said Soufi Esmaeilzadeh, the director of Search product management, to ZDNET.


Google prepares to start testing AI Mode with regular Search users

Engadget

When Google debuted AI Mode at the start of March, the company promised to work quickly on bringing the feature to more users, and now it's doing exactly. Following a smaller expansion last month, the company says AI Mode is now available to all Labs users, with no wait list in place to limit access. As a reminder, AI Mode is a new chatbot that Google has built directly into Search. Labs, meanwhile, is a program you can sign up for to try out new Search features before they're widely available. With today's expansion, Google is also updating AI Mode to add new visual cards that will appear when you ask the chatbot for information related to places and products.


Microsoft really, really wants Windows 10 users to buy Copilot PCs

PCWorld

Microsoft is continuing its efforts to get straggling Windows 10 users to make the jump to Windows 11. Last week, the company published a new blog post (spotted by Windows Central) that shamelessly promotes its new Copilot PCs as the way forward for users still on older Windows 10 PCs that aren't eligible for the Windows 11 upgrade. Among other things, Microsoft is trying to entice you with brand-new AI features such as Recall, which takes periodic screenshots of your screen, analyzes it using AI, then indexes it so you can search through all your past PC activity at a later time. Another big benefit touted in the blog post is that Copilot PCs are purported to be up to five times faster than a five-year-old Windows device, with enhanced security features on top. Yet, while Copilot PCs are certainly novel and do offer plenty of benefits in the battery life and performance departments, they're still in need of some serious improvements.